THIS is an age-old question that has plagued humanity since time immemorial. It was also the subject of the opening movie for this year’s edition of Pelicula, the long-running Spanish Film Festival in Manila.
Movie aficionados, like me, were introduced, to the subtle humor of a Spanish black dramedy, Felices 140 (Happy 140), by the multiawarded protagonist Maribel Verdú, who graced the event, as this well-crafted movie pokes fun at the generation of the fourty something, exploring the uneasy relationships within a group of friends and relatives.
Elia (Maribel Verdú), a veterinarian, on the occasion of her 40th birthday, invites her sister Cati (Marian Álvarez) with her husband Juan (Antonio de la Torre) and teenage son Bruno (Marcos Ruiz); aside from her family, Elia invites her close friends, as well: restaurateur Ramon (Eduard Fernández) and his wife Martina (Nora Navas), businessman Polo (Alex O’Dogherty) and musician Mario (Ginés García Millán), her lifelong flame to an all-expenses-paid getaway on the Canary Islands. Elia chooses a luxurious country home in Tenerife overlooking the sea as the backdrop of happy news she intends to deliver to the group, which makes its way to this dreamy destination. The last to arrive, making a grand entrance, is Mario, who unexpectedly brings along his fiancée, Claudia (Paula Cancio), a young and fetching, but questionably talented, starlet much to Elia’s chagrin.
Upon gathering at the table for dinner, they take turns in sharing the latest good news in each of their lives: a baby coming, a new business deal, an imminent marriage, but Elia tops them all when she tells them she had won a jackpot of €140 million. The initial disbelief of the others is then followed by feigned happiness, however, in the privacy of their own rooms the truth is bared.
Juan, a lawyer by profession, is the most adept in rationalizing why Cati should get a portion of Elia’s wins; Martina sees it as a chance to save the restaurant cajoling Ramon into asking Elia for help. The lucky winner, on the other hand, had secretly hoped to win Mario back by buying him a grand piano, but ultimately seeing that fleeting window of opportunity disappear due to Claudia’s presence.
Then the unthinkable happens: a fight between Elia and Mario that leads to his accidental death. Here the director, Grazia Querejeta, introduces a twist to delve into the human psyche. The scheming lawyer takes this opportunity to turn up the heat on the group: Everyone needs to be on the same page so they can all get their fair share out of Elia’s winnings, they all agree to cover up the deed for the measly sum of €20 million each.
Juan and Polo purposely procrastinate on deciding whether to report Mario’s accidental demise to force a different moral compass on those who still contemplated on doing the right thing, ultimately dividing the spoils in exchange for their silence, after a hasty burial at sea.
A story in the same vein of Indecent Proposal delivered with humor and quick wit that ultimately brings us to ask ourselve: How far would we compromise our values and integrity for money?
I can be reached at crismonicca@gmail.com
Image credits: Photo courtesy of Instituto Cervantes